The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

?php
>

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Optimism between the straits - Boaz Bismuth

by Boaz Bismuth

The new romance between
Egypt and Saudi Arabia needs to be put in regional context.

In this stormy Middle
East of ours, we have grown accustomed to this rule of thumb: "The enemy
of my enemy is my friend." Considering Egypt's announcement that it
will return the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia after so
many years, we may want to consider a new rule of thumb that says "the
friend of my friend is my friend."

But because we are in the Middle East, it would perhaps be wise to adopt this optimistic phrase with eyes wide open.

On May 23, 1967,
then-Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser closed the Straits of Tiran
to Israel, providing Jerusalem with a casus belli. Six years later,
another war was fought, and then came a peace treaty. Agreements were
signed between Israel and Egypt, stipulating that Egypt could not
station military forces on the islands, as doing so is prohibited along
the border between the two countries.

The new romance between
Egypt and Saudi Arabia needs to be put in regional context. Shiite Iran
is expanding its sphere of influence with the approval of the West
(with special thanks to U.S. President Barack Obama), which is making
Sunni states such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt nervous. Riyadh, which has
lost its faith in Washington, is assembling a new coalition. After
openly winking toward the Russians, the Saudis decided to forge a new
Sunni axis with Egypt and Turkey.

The Saudi kingdom is
still not ripe for relations with Israel, but it also has no interest in
sabotaging the Israeli-Egyptian peace accord, certainly not while Iran
poses a regional threat. For this reason we can assume the status quo
will remain intact and the Straits of Tiran will not be closed to us,
even as they are transferred to Saudi sovereignty. Nevertheless, the
Saudis should be well aware that Israel will remain vigilant and on
guard about this vital waterway at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba.

And by the way, the islands will remain under Egyptian control for another 65 years.